Over the past 2 weeks the leaves finally changed here in Texas. This being my first year in Texas I am surprised by the late onset of fall. In Washington, where I’ve lived my whole life, fall came as early as September. While this discrepancy is initially odd for me, I was pleased to get a few more good months of fishing in before winter’s grip squeezes the bite out of the fish. I even caught three largemouths on buzzbaits on December 1st just to say I could! Over the past week however the weather has shifted to rainy with very cold nights. This cold front is probably the point where my fast moving lures retire until next spring. Texas has a peculiar set of seasons—8 month summers and short lived other seasons. However what seems peculiar to me is normal to Texans. This experience has reminded me that all fishing seasons are relative to location. Prespawn bassin in Texas happens months before the sun blesses northern waters with spawning temperatures.

In the spirit of changing seasons, I’d like to talk a little about what the season dates are in the calendar year and how they change as geography changes. The biggest difference between seasons is comparing southern (TX, AZ, NM, LA, etc.) waters with northern waters (MN, WI, MI, etc.). The dates below are not what dates people consider summer/fall/winter/spring but rather what the fish consider the seasons according to the temperatures. Get ready for a glimpse at the fish’s calendars!

Northern Water Seasons

Fishing seasons in the north are evenly spaced. From December to April is considered the winter period where fish lay largely inactive in deeper water. Unless you are ice fishing, I advise not fishing during this period because the only thing you are going to catch is a cold. Sometimes as early as April spring starts heating up the waters and getting the fish moving. April – early June is the typical spring period. Once the waters hit 50 degrees the bass are moving into the spawning shallows (they usually spawn at 60 or so). Summer typically lasts from Late July through early September. Somewhere in the September to October period is the fall period where the famed fall turnover happens, but that is for another article.

Southern Water Seasons

Southern waters (especially the southwest) are much hotter and dryer than the north. Logically this means short fall, winter, and springs with long summers. As I mentioned earlier, Texas fall is short lived and typically happens for 6 weeks around October/November/December. The winter runs between December and January. Spring for southern waters usually starts in February and quickly progresses into summer in April.

Other Useful Season Notes

One important note is that these typical seasons represent an average. Seasons are elongated or shortened every year for one reason or another (maybe a long cold front or drought). This year perhaps the fall was so late because the summer was one of the hottest in Texas history. Bodies of water that are neither north or south will usually have a mix of the north/south water seasonality. I will make a detailed chart in the future to best represent these trends across the US.

All fish act differently depending on the season. When in doubt of what season the fish are in, remember to keep the fish’s frame of mind. It doesn’t matter that it is December 1st, it has been a hot year and the temperatures keep coming in consistently warmer than usual—fish probably are still holding a fall pattern. Temperature and rainfall are all the fish know of and use to change behavior. Watch these two weather indicators and you will come to a beneficial conclusion on fish seasonality.

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